


Recall Those Days

by DancerinDarkness



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, F/M, Falling In Love, Lost Love, Sad Ending, Songfic, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22687936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancerinDarkness/pseuds/DancerinDarkness
Summary: A songfic featuring the song "Think of Me", where we get to see a glimpse of the love that bloomed between Vergil and Nero's mother, before it all fell apart.
Relationships: Nero's Mother/Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Recall Those Days

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a sad songfic just in time for Valentine's Day. I'll be using a combination of the current lyrics, and a couple of ones that aren't used anymore, but ones I still really like that I thought would fit.

_Think of me_

_Think of me fondly_

_When we’ve said goodbye_

He had come to Fortuna, an isolated island that was home to a religious order that worshiped his father like a god. He had traveled here to find a way to become stronger, to obtain the strength that his father was so revered for.

And by some stroke of fate, he found more than he could ever ask for.

_Remember me_

_Every so often_

_Promise me you’ll try_

He first met her when he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He turned around and saw her, a woman in red with her head covered in a while cowl, but she was close enough for him to see her soft features and hazel eyes.

_On that day_

_That not so distant day_

_When you are far away and free_

“You’re an outsider,” she said. “You’re here because you’re looking for something aren’t you?” He said nothing and was about to walk away when she spoke again. “This city is full of closely guarded secrets that most people aren’t willing to share. But I can help you if you promise me one thing.”

“What is it you want?” he asked.

“Wherever you’re going, you must take me with you. I don’t care where it is, and you can leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere when you’re through. But if you want my help, you must help me flee from here.”

He thought her a strange woman for not only approaching a stranger whose face she couldn’t see, but also immediately offering her help for whatever he needed in exchange for him to take her away from her home. Still, her proposition intrigued him, and if she was willing to assist him in his task, then she could be quite useful to him.

“Very well,” he replied. “I accept your agreement.”

_If you ever find a moment_

_Spare a thought for me_

In additional to helping him find any information he needed, she also offered him a place to stay. After all, staying at an inn would raise even more suspicion from the townspeople. Her home was hardly large, but she had a small spare bedroom for him to sleep in. As soon as they entered her house, she pulled off her cowl, revealing long, chestnut brown hair. When she looked at him and saw that he still wore his cloak she smiled at him.

“You don’t need to hide your face here,” she replied. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

_And though it’s clear_

_Though it was always clear_

_That this was never meant to be_

Despite her strong desire to leave Fortuna, she was always smiling when she was in his presence, and softly giggled when she found something he said amusing. Was she trying to endear herself to him, hoping that he might keep her around after taking her away from here?

_If you happen to remember_

_Stop and think of me_

Even if she was, he couldn’t help but find her attitude around him… pleasant. Though he never outwardly showed it, every time he saw her smile only for him, seeing the way her entire face lit up, it filled him with warmth, a warmth that he hadn’t felt since he was a child, when his mother was still alive. When he caught a peek of her bookshelf, he noticed it was full of classic literature, from poems by William Blake and Edgar Allen Poe, to plays by Shakespeare, to beloved novels such as _Les Miserables_ and _Jane Eyre_. He wondered what kind of thoughts she could share on such books.

_Think of August when the trees were green_

But he had no use for such emotions; they would only distract him from his goals, he kept telling himself. She was only a means to an end, the only usefulness this weak little human served for him. Then why was it when he saw the other townspeople glare at her in contempt, he had the urge to guard her from their judgement stares, to take her by the hand to a place where their prying eyes couldn’t reach her? Why did he want to hold their throats in his grasp when he heard them refer to her as “that whore” in a degrading tone? Why did he give any man whose sight wavered on her for too long an icy glare? Why was it he had the urge to touch her soft-looking cheek with his hand when they were alone? Why was it he was thinking of ways she could live with him once all was said and done in Fortuna?

_Don’t think about the way things_

_Might have been_

One day when he came home he noticed how tired she was after just doing some simple chores around the house, so tired that she needed to sit on the sofa to relieve her dizziness.

“I’m fine,” she replied, smiling as she always did. “My health has never been the best, unfortunately.”

“Then why do you want to leave here?” he asked. “Surely if you’re in a new environment, you’ll be making yourself vulnerable.”

Her smile slowly faded, her eyes losing their sparkle.

“Because,” she replied, “even if I were to die from some horrible disease, at least I’ll die far away from here, far away from them.” Suddenly, she started crying, something that activated an uncomfortable achiness in his chest when he saw her usual cheerfulness fade away because of him. He was about to apologize, but she interrupted him before he could.

_Think of me_

_Think of me waking_

_Silent and resigned_

“Do you know why they hate me?” she asked as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Last year, when I was sitting in the garden reading, a high ranking member of the Order approached me. He was trying to woo me with his words, but I knew he was married, so I tried to make an excuse to get away from him. But then he grabbed my arm and forced a kiss on me. A few seconds later, I heard any angry woman screaming, which made him separate from me. It was his wife. But instead of confronting him, she slapped my cheek hard enough for me to taste blood. She said she would make sure everyone knew of my harlot ways, that I was a temptress who didn’t care if I was giving myself to married men, so long as it would satisfy my lust.”

She wiped her tears with her sleeve before continuing. “Then I was dragged by two other high ranking members into a small room. They told me that I would be locked in there for a month, to pray for forgiveness for my sins. I pounded on the door for hours, but the only time anyone ever came was to feed me barely enough to survive off of. They said I needed to be humbled as much as possible while I begged for forgiveness for committing one of the gravest of sins. But I did nothing wrong. I know I didn’t. I didn’t want him to kiss me. I wanted nothing to do with him. But because he and his wife had such elevated statuses, everyone believed them over me. My health had been weaker than most people’s before this, but after that month I’ve become so fragile. I can hardly work without feeling like I’ll fall apart after a short time. That’s why you’re my only hope for escaping from this hell.”

Perhaps against his better judgement, he offered her his hand. Quickly she collapsed into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was so startled by her actions that all he could think to do to comfort her was to gently place his hands on her shoulders. He did nothing as he let her cry as much as she needed to as rage boiled in his heart. How he wanted to track down the man and woman who condemned her, and brutalize them until they were hardly recognizable, then give them the same punished they made her suffer. They were both as cruel as any demon, the man for forcing himself on a clearly uninterested woman despite himself being married, the woman for using her as a scapegoat because she didn’t want to believe her husband would be unfaithful to her, and both of them for using their statuses to victimize an innocent woman.

_Imagine me_

_Trying too hard to_

_Put you from my mind_

One day, when she was out at the market, demons suddenly ambushed the town. She ran as fast as she could to safety, but she soon ran out of breath, and was barely able to drag herself to a hidden alleyway. As she was panting, struggling to catch her breath again, a frightening-looking demon cornered her, prepared to tear her to shreds. She screamed and closed her eyes, hoping that it would end quickly. But to her shock, the finishing blow never came. When she opened her eyes, she saw a great demon standing before her, blue energy radiating from him and a familiar sword in his hand.

“Vergil…” she gasped. He was about to disappear from her forever, knowing how the Order despised demons. But to his shock she ran up to him and locked her arms around him.

“What are doing?” he asked.

“Thank you,” she said. “I thought I was going to die.” She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him, before nuzzling her face against his chest. For the first time in his life he was left speechless. This delicate woman was embracing him, the thing she had been taught to loathe since birth, going so far as to show affection for him. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her in return, allowing himself to fall completely into this unspeakably wonderful warmth.

_Recall those days_

_Look back on all those times_

_Think of the things we’ll never do_

It did not take long after that to allow his feelings for her to completely overtake all rhyme and reason; he cared for her when she was having a particularly bad day, reading William Blake to her while she lay resting, allowed her to kiss him whenever she pleased, and he to her in return. He would rest his head in her lap as he read, letting her fingers comb through his hair.

“You are my only joy,” he whispered to her when he found that she fell asleep on the sofa, stroking a lock of hair from her face. He absolutely had to become stronger; he could never let any harm come to her, the first happiness he felt in so many years, the first glimmer of light in his darkness. He would make sure to not only protect her, but also restore her health to its fullest, so that she could enjoy life the way she wanted to. He would take her someplace peaceful, somewhere where she would want for nothing, somewhere where she could be by his side forever.

_There will never be a day when_

_I won’t think of you_

Later she became pregnant with his child. She was frightened at first, thinking he would abandon her when he discovered this new addition, but to her surprise, he was probably more frightened than she was.

“Your health is so delicate already,” he said. “Will your body be safe?”

“I’ll be careful,” she said. “I promise. Besides, I know you’ll take care of me. You always have.”

_Long ago_

_It seemed so long ago_

_How young and innocent we were_

He agreed to marry her, for she made him aware that their child would be taken to an orphanage if it was born out of wedlock. He gave her a silver ring with a blue gem in the center, a symbol of their unending love.

He was nothing short of meticulous in caring for her; he constantly gave her his arm to hold as she walked, made sure she was resting as much as possible, and stayed up all night when she had gotten a fever.

Then he had to leave without her. She pleaded for him not to, to wait at least until he saw his son emerge into the world. But he said he needed to become stronger for the both of them, so that no harm would ever come to them, promising that after he came back he would take all of them someplace wonderful, a place where they could be happy forever.

“When I’m gone, I’ll think of you always until I return.” He kissed her one last time before leaving her.

_Flowers fade_

_The fruits of summer fade_

_They have their seasons so do we_

He returned two months later, expecting her to be home with their child in her arms, her warm smile greeting him once more. But to his horror, her home was nothing but shambles, barely recognizable as the home they shared. He ran up to a passing townsperson, grabbing their shoulders.

“What happened here?” he demanded as he violently shook him.

“Haven’t you heard?” the man said, trying as hard as he could to increase the distance between the two of them. “There was an enormous demon attack. She died, but her child was found hidden away and someone dropped him off at the orphanage.”

All at once, Vergil’s entire spirit turned cold.

She was dead.

His sweet, beautiful wife, the one thing he cherished in this world, whose mere existence filled him with rapture, lay dead. How could she have died? The ring he gave her was infused with a powerful protection spell. No, it was obvious as to why she died: he wasn’t strong enough. He loved her so much, tried so hard to keep her safe, but it wasn’t enough. Now he would never get to hold her again, never get to see her smiling face, never get to hear her gentle voice, because of him.

But their son was safe; she died protecting him, because he wasn’t there to protect the both of them. Perhaps he could find some fragment of the happiness he once had, for they had created that life together…

No. Never again. He now knew what love brought; it only brought pain, such an indescribably horrible pain. It was a weakness, for this emptiness brought him an almost unbearable agony that he felt throughout his entire being. He should have known better than to allow himself this happiness again, to allow himself to be vulnerable to such pain again, but he was a damned fool. She was his weakness, a weakness that brought him joy so short, and yet so tremendous, but a weakness nonetheless. Everything he had done for her was all for naught, and he had no one but himself to blame. His son would be better off without him, and so would he.

One last time he looked at their destroyed home, where all the dreams they built were now shattered beyond repair, before leaving Fortuna forever. He had to push forward, no matter what the cost.

Might controlled everything. And without it, he could not protect anything.

_But please promise me that sometimes_

_You will think of me_

**Author's Note:**

> Had quite a bit of fun with this one, and I'd definitely like to know what you think. I might even write more at some point.


End file.
